Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1887-10-22


pied the night before, and proposed marching
on 70 M'Arstuna on the morrow Having
heard this, felt that could die with light
heart, and then everything became blank
When next awoke the first thing l saw
was the round disk of sympathetic eye
glass, behind which was Good
"How are you getting on, old chaps" said g
voice from the neighborhood of the eye glass
"What are you doing here'' asked
faintly "You ought to be at MArstuna
have you run away, or what"
IN Arstunal' he replied. cheerfully All
MArstuna fell last week--you've been uncon
scIous for fortnight. you see--with all the
honors of war. you know, trumpets blowing
flags flying, just as though they had the best
OF il, but for all that weren't they glad TO go
Israel made for his tents, l can tell you
never saw such sight III my life
"And Soraisf' | asked
"Sorais--oh, Sorais is a prisoner they gave
her up, the scoundrels.s he added, with
change of tone--"sacrificed the queen to save
their skins, you see. She is being brought vi
here, and don't know what will happen te
her. poor souls and he sighed. /.
where il Curtisip asked
Ale is with Nyleptha. She rode out te
meet us today. and there was grand to do.
can tell YOU He Is coming to see you to-mor
row; the doctors Qor there is a medical fac
ulty' In u.Vendis as elsewhere) thought ths
he had better not come today
said nothing, but somehow thought Il
myself that notwithstanding the doctors ht
might have given me look, but then, wher
man is newly married, and has just gained
great victory, he is apt to listen to the adj
vice of doctors, and quite right too.
just then heard familiar voice informing
me that "Monsieur must now couch HIMSELF
and looking up perceived Alphonse's enor
nous black mustaches curling away In the
distance
$50 you are herean said.
"Mais oui monsieur the war IN now fin
ished, my military instincts are satisfied, and
return to nurse monsieur"
laughed. or rather tried to but whatever
may have been Alphonse's failings as war
rior land fear that he did not come up to the
level Of his heroic grandfather in this partic
ular, showing thereby how true IS the saying
that it is q had thing to be overshadowed BY
some great ancestral name,, better or
kinder nurse never lived. Poor Alphonsel
hope he will always think OF me as kindly al
think of him.
On the morrow saw Curtis and Nylepths
with him, and he told me the whole history
of what had happened since Umslopogaai
and galloped wildly away from the battl,
to save the life of the queen. It seemed Il
mo that he had managed the thing exceeding
ly well, and showed great ability as n general
or course, however, our loss had been dread
fully heavy--indeed, am afraid to say how
many persisted Ia the desperate battle / hav,
described. but know that the slaughter hu
appreciabfy affected the male population OF
the country He was very pleased to see me
dear fellow that he is, and thanked me with
tears in his eyes for the little / had been abb,
to do. | saw him, however, start violently
when his eyes fell upon my face.
As for Nyleptha, she was positively radiant
now that 'her dear lordn had come back with
no other injury than an ugly scar on hi
forehead.
"And what art thou going to do with
Soraisi" asked her
Instantly her bright brow darkened to
frowa
"Sorais," she said, with little stamp OF thu
foot, "ah but Soraisl"
Sir Henry hastened to turn the subject.
"You will soon be about and all right agar
now, old fellow" he said.
shook my head and laughed.
"Don't deceive yourselves / said. II may
be about for n little, but shall never be al
right again. am dying man, Curtis. J
may die slow, but die must Do you know
/ have been splitting blood all the morning
tell you there is something working away
into my lung; can feel it. There, don't lool
distressed; have had my day, and am ready
10 20. Give me the mirror, will you2 / want
to look at myself"
l,,t \ /,
and insisted, and at last he handed me one Of
the disks Of polished silver, set in wooder
frame like hand screen, which serve q.
looking glasses in Zu-Vendis. / looked anc
put it down
"Ah," | said quietlys II thought so, and you
talk of my getting all rightp | did not likC
10 let them see how shocked really was a.
my own appearance My grizzled Stub,
hair was turned snow white, and my yellow
face was shrunk like an aged woman's anc
had two deep purple rings painted beneath
the eyes.
Here Nyleptha began to cry. and Sir Henry
again turned the subject, telling me that the
artists had taken a cast Of the dead body d
old Umslopogaas and that a great statue II
black marble was to be erected OF hirn in The
act of splitting the sacred stone, which wai
to be matched by another statue in Whit
marble of myself and the horse Daylight al
he appeared when, at the termination Of that
wild ride, he sank beneath me in the court
yard of the palace. / have since seen These
statues, which, at the time of writing this
six months after the battle, are nearly
finished; and very beautiful they are espeti
ally that Of Umslopogaas which is exactil
like him. As for that OF myself, it is good,
but they have idealized my ugly face a ltlei
which is perhaps as well, seeing that thou
sands OF people will probably look ut in TIE
centuries to come, and it is not pleasant q
look at ugly things
Then they told me that Umslopogaas' last
wish had been carried out, and that instead
of being cremated, as / shall be, after the
usual custom here, he had been tied up Zulu
fashion, with his knees beneath his chin, and,
having been wrapped in a thin sheet of beaten
gold, entombed in hole followed out Of the